Apparatus for treating skins, &amp;c.



No. 864,343.l

PATENTBUAUG. 27', 1907. w. R. SMITH.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SKINS, &0. APPLIoA'r-Ion rILrm un. n4. 190s.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

www 5 e5 mw WM@ 1%. 864,343. PATBNTBD AUG. 27, 19o?.

w. R. SMITH.

APPARATUS POR TREATING SKINS, 6m.

APPLICATION FILED' IAB.. 24. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l 577. M ry y UNITED NSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. SMITH, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BUFFALO LEATHER CO.,BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

APPARATS FOR TREATINGSKINS, &c.

Patented Aug. 27, 1907.

Application'iiled March 24,1906. Serial,No.307,779. i

l paratus for Treating Skins, &c., of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to apparatus for subjecting hides and skins andother articles to the action of a liquid for the purpose of washing thesame to remove dirt and foreign matter, orfor the purpose of applying tothe articles a chemical solution asin the treatment of skins by asolution of, lime for unhairing the skins.

The improvement has for its object to provide improved means forimpartng'frequent changes of position to the articles under treatment,as well as a more eiiicient and thorough agitation of the` liquidemployed, to the end that the desired result may be more quickly andefl'iciently accomplished-` The linvention consists in the improvedapparatus which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specication,-FigurelV represents a top plan view of an apparatus embodying my invention.Fig. 2 represents a section of a portion of the apparatus on line 2-2ofFig. l. Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4represents a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a different embodiment oflmy invention.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, a represents an endless tank or raceway which ispreferably formed as a flattened ellipse as shown in Fig. l, although itmay be circular or of any other suitable form.

b represents a paddle-wheel affixed to a shaft c, which is j ournaled inbearings above the tank, the lower blades of the wheel entering theliquid in the tank and extending substantially across the tank, so thatthe rotation of the wheel causes a continuous horizontal movement of theliquid. In practice, I employ two paddle-wheels extending across the twostraight stretches of the tank, with their shafts c c in alinement. Thewheels are r0- tated simultaneously in opposite directions by suitablemeans such as a driven shaft d having a bevel gear e meshing with bevelgears f f on the shafts'of the two paddle-wheels. Each wheel impartsmotion to the liquid with which it is in contacn the result being aprogressive horizontal flow of the liquid in the endless tank. l

A batch of skins placed in a charge of liquid in the tank will be movedhorizontally by the liquid and will be kept in a substantiallyhorizontal position by the current7 the surfaces of each skin being freefrom close or clinging contact with the surfaces of the other skins.When the skins come under the paddle-Wheels they are raised by therising paddles to or toward the surface of the liquid and then move ontoward the next wheel,

sinking somewhat, it may be, in the liquid and being again raised by thepaddles of the next wheel.

I find that the described apparatus causes the skins to floathorizontally independently-of each other and therefore treats all theskins uniformly so that there is no discoloration'and no variation inthe action of the liquid on different skins or on different parts of thesame skin.

g` g represent air pipes or conduits, which enter the lower portion of atank a and extend across the same,

there being preferably two of these pipes and each located adjacent tothe rear or delivering side of one of the wheels. The pipes g g areconnected with a suitable air-forcing apparatus, which may be a blowerh, of any suitable construction, or a suitable air pump. The portions ofthe pipes within the tank are perforated in such manner as to dischargeair in a series of jets or streams into the liquid in the tank. The airbubbles rising through the liquid encounter the articles as they leavethe paddles, which are carried thereby and accumulate-in contact withthe under sides of said articles, the accumulations of air buoyng up thearticles and preventing them from settlingto the bottom of the tank.This buoying effect is produced as soon as the articles leave the paddlebecause, as above stated, the pipes g are located adjacent to thedelivering side of the wheels,- and this effect continues until thearticles thusbuoyed up approach the succeeding paddle wheel, when theblades of the wheel in striking the articles have a tendency to tip thesame and thus cause the air to move toward the rear edge or end of thebuoyed up articles, the air thus displaced having a tendency to invertthe articles and thus present to the blades of the paddle, as the uppersurface, the surface which was before the lower surface. The movement ofthe air through the liquid causes an agitation of the liquid in additionto that caused by the movement oi the paddle blades, which increases theeffectiveness of the Contact between the liquid and the articles carriedthereby.

I have found that when the apparatus is used for washing hides, skinsand other articles, the air introduced, as described, greatlyfacilitates the washing operation, there being a direct coperationbetween the mechanical agitation effected by the paddle wheels and theair forced into the liquid at the bottom portion of the tank.

In Fig. 4 I show the tank extended above the paddle wheels to form asubstantially air tight chamber a above the contents ofthe tank. In thiscase the blower or air forcing device is indicated at h and has itsintake end connected by a conduit h2 with the air chamber a. The blowerforces air through the pipes g g into the lowerportion of the tank as inthe construction above described. This form of apparatus is adapted forthe process of liming skins, the liquid in the tank containing carbonateoi lime in solution. The object of the closed air chamber a/ above thetank isl to enable the same air to be used indefinitely Withoutadmixture with outside air. At the commencement of the operation theaircontained in the chamber aatter being forced through the solution ofhydrate of lime in the tank is deprived thereby of carbon dioxid, whichis an objectionable element. The air is, therefore, to a certain extentpuritied, so that it acts more eiciently than would be the case ifoutside air, containing carbon dioxid, were continuously admitted.

My invention may be used for cleansing textile f abrics of variouskinds, as Well as for the Washing, liming, soakingr and bating of skins.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for treating skins comprising a tank or reservoir forcontaining a body of liquid, means for impelling said liquid and causingthe skins to oat horizontally therein, and means for discharging airunder the traveling skins immediately adjacent to the delivering sideofthe said impelling means.

2. An apparatus for treating skins comprising a tank or reservoir,adapted to contain a body of liquid, a mechanical agitator adapted to zno-ve the liquid and the skins' immersed for treatment therein, andmeans for forcing air into the bottom portion of the tank immediatelyadjacent to the delivering side of said agitator.

3. An apparatus for treating skins comprising a tank or reservoiradapted to contain a body of liquid, a rotary paddle Wheel having ashaft journaled, above the surface of the liquid, and blades projectinginto the liquid at the lower portion of the wheel, means for rotatingthe wheel, and means for forcing air into the bottom portion of the tankimmediately adjacent to the delivering side of the wheel.

4. An apparatus for treating skins comprising an endless tank orreservoir adapted to contain a body of liquid, a rotary paddle wheeladaptedA to impel the contents of the tank, means for rotating theWheel,' and means for forcing air into the bottom portion of the tankimmediately adjacent to the delivering side of the wheel.

5. An apparatus for treating skins comprising an endless tank orreservoir adapted to contain a body of liquid, two rotary paddle wheelslocated in opposite stretches or portions of the tank, means forrotating the wheels simultaneously in opposite directions, and means forforcing air into the bottom portion of the tank immediately adjacent tothe delivering sidev of each wheel.

l-n testimony whereof I have atlixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM R. SMITH. Witnesses L. J. WYATT, FnANcrs A. RANsoM.

